The Piano
by Rogue11
Summary: Did Relena get more than she bargained for when she bought a piano at a small consignment store? It will be up to her brother and his friends, including Alexander, to solve the mystery. Part of the Ghost Detectives Arc.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **This story was written by a fan only for the enjoyment of other fans, without any monetary compensation. Gundam Wing and its characters are registered trademarks of Bandai Entertainment Inc.™ and Sotsu Agency. All rights reserved.

**This is the 4th story in the 'Ghost Detectives' Arc arc. In order to fully understand the plot and characters you should have read "The Portrait" completely and if possible also "The Well" and "The Junkyard" **

**Happy Halloween!**

Ghosts and Halloween just go together like burgers and fries, so what better opportunity to post the beginning of the newest installment of the 'Ghost Detectives' arc. Hope you enjoy this little _treat_. And tomorrow, it's no _trick_, you can look forward to another chapter of Junkyard as well.

**The Piano**

**Chapter 1  
><strong>

"There you go. Enjoy."

The waitress smiled as she set another glass of iced tea in front of long-haired young woman, and picked up the empty one.

"Thanks." Relena Peacecraft returned the smile. She was sitting at one of the white wrought-iron tables outside the little French bistro.

After the waitress had left she pulled out her cell phone, checking if she might have missed a message. Dorothy was supposed to meet her here at two. Now it was past two thirty. It was not like her to be tardy. Relena was still considering if she should call her friend when she heard footsteps on the sidewalk and then a pair of arms embraced her from behind.

"Hello Lena."

"Dorothy!" She exclaimed. "I was starting to wonder if you had forgotten that we were supposed to meet."

"Sorry about that. Mother made me run errands for her." The young woman flung her long blond tresses over her shoulder as she slipped into the chair across from her friend.

"Don't worry about it. Most importantly, you are here now. Can I get you something to drink?"

"What is it you are having; mango and peach iced tea? I think I'll have one of those too."

Relena waved for the waitress and ordered the tea.

"No sweetener, please," Dorothy requested, and then after the woman had left she leaned back in her chair with a sigh. "I can't believe break is almost over already. One week is just too short if you ask me."

"Ask my father and he will tell you we are having too much time off," Relena laughed. "So, how was St. Moritz? You go there every Fall, don't you?"

"Not this year. Father had to leave for a business trip and decided we should take the opportunity for some mother daughter bonding. He booked us four days at one of those spa resorts."

"Sounds very...relaxing."

Dorothy gave a quiet laugh. "Boring you mean, don't you? But tell me, what's the emergency? Why did you need to see me?"

"I have to buy a birthday present for my mother and I have no idea what to get her. So I was hoping you might have a suggestion."

"A birthday present... For your mother... Hmm," Dorothy mused as the waitress returned with the iced tea. "How much time do we have and what kind of a present do you have in mind?"

"I think it should be something personal, but I have given her perfume last year and the year before. As for how much time..." Relena checked her watch. "About two and a half hours."

"You mean her birthday is **today**?"

The young woman smiled wryly. "I did mention it was an emergency, didn't I?"

"Well, that doesn't give us a lot of options, does it? But don't worry." Dorothy gave her friend a reassuring nod. "I know exactly the place to go to."

###

"A consignment store?" Relena frowned as she looked up at the sign above the store Dorothy had driven to.

"Don't turn up your pretty little nose before you have even taken a look around," her friend admonished. "Think of it not as a consignment store but a discount antique dealer, Dear. Come, let me show you what I mean."

As they entered the store Relena let her gaze wander. She had expected racks of second hand clothing and old worn down furniture but was pleasantly surprised by what she found.

There were walls filled with paintings; antique oils alongside modern pastels, display cases filled with jewelry and finest china. Of course there **was **also furniture, but everything looked in good shape.

Several other people were browsing the store. A slender man with shoulder long dark hair was talking to an elderly couple as they entered. He excused himself, walked toward them and spread out his arms in a welcoming manner.

"Mademoiselle Dorothy!" He spoke with an heavy accent, putting emphasis on the last syllable in her name. "How nice to see you again. What can I do for you today?"

"Thomas," she greeted him; pronouncing it the French way, Tomahs. "I would like you to meet my friend Relena Peacecraft. Relena, this is Thomas, he owns this place."

"Pleasure to meet you, Mister Thomas." Relena nodded at him, and he gave her a wide smile that showed off a set of perfectly white teeth.

"The pleasure is mine, but please there is no Mister here, only Thomas."

"Relena is looking for a present for her Mother. Remember those earrings and the broaches you showed me last week. Could we take a look at them?"

"Oui, Oui I do remember. Let me first... what's the word... satisfy my other customers and I will go get them for you. Please look around while you wait."

"I would let him satisfy me any day," Dorothy whispered as the handsome Frenchman walked away.

Relena giggled and cuffed her with her elbow. "You are impossible, you know that?"

"What in the world do you mean?" Her friend blinked innocently.

They split up as they explored the store. Relena checked out a few paintings she thought her mother might be interested in, and a beautifully painted tea set that seemed so delicate she was sure it could only be used for decoration. As she kept looking around her eyes fell upon a piano.

The gold lettering on the left side identified it as a Stanford and Son, and from the size and shape she could tell that it was a baby grand. Relena stepped closer to get a better look. The instrument seemed to be on pretty good shape, and she could see only a few scratches in the otherwise flawlessly polished black wood. After a moment of hesitation she opened the fall and let her gaze wander over the set of ebony and ivory keys. Relena had no idea what possessed her to pull out the seat and sit down in front of the instrument. Slowly she reached out and played a few cautious notes. The last time she had played a piano it had been years ago, under her grandmother's watchful eye.

The young woman smiled softly at the memory. Unlike her brother she had actually enjoyed their childhood music lessons.

Before she knew it she was playing a song. The music was beautiful, mellow and serene. It wasn't a piece she ever remembered playing before and it was far more complicated than anything her grandmother had taught her to play. But her fingers were flying over the keys like she had practiced it hundreds of times before.

When the music finally stopped she looked up and realized that everybody in the store, including her friend, had stopped what they had been doing and was watching her.

"That was amazing, Lena. I had no idea you can play like this."

"Neither did I." Gently and quietly the young woman closed the piano and rose to her feet. As she started to walk away a gust of cool air brushed over her back and she suddenly had the feeling like somebody was looking at her. But when she turned her head there was nothing behind her but the piano.

####

"Misses Peacecraft, you are looking lovely as always," Treize smiled charmingly as he held a bouquet of colorful flowers out to her. "Happy Birthday! It's your twenty-fifth, isn't it?"

"Professor, you surely know how to flatter a woman," she laughed.

"It's a skill passed down through generations of male Khushrenadas," he told her with a roguish wink.

"Alright, that's it! Stop hogging my mother," Milliardo stepped in and placed a kiss onto her cheek. "Happy Birthday, Mom!"

His mother smiled. "Thank you, both of you. It's still a little early to leave for the restaurant. We were just about to sit down for a glass of wine. Shall we go outside?" Her gaze went up to the second floor. "Relena Dear, your brother and Professor Khushrenada are here, come down and join us."

"Would you like me to put those flowers into a vase Ma'am?" The Peacecraft's family butler, a man in his seventies with gray hair and kind eyes, entered from the patio, an empty serving tray in his hands.

"Please do, Paigan." She passed the bouquet on to him with a grateful nod. "Is my husband outside already?"

"Yes Ma'am, he is."

"Thank you."

Stephàn Peacecraft was about to open a bottle of red wine when they stepped out onto the patio.

"Hold on, Dad. Let's try this one." Milliardo handed him the bottle he and Treize had brought along from their own collection. "We have been keeping it for a special occasion."

His father gave an appreciative nod as the checked the label. "Good stuff. You open it." He looked up at Treize. "Come on, Professor, have a seat. How have you been?"

"Pretty good, thank you," the tawny haired man slipped into one of the white wicker chairs while the lady of the house took the seat next to her husband. "How about yourself? I've heard we were working on a merger with some company in Spain, how is that going?"

"Actually we just closed that deal. I will be flying to Europe tomorrow to sign the last papers."

"Really? Congratulations."

"Thank you."

With a proud smile his wife laid her hand on his arm. "He made it sound so easy, but he had to work hard to get it done."

"Oh, it wasn't really that big of a deal," he replied with a dismissive gesture, obviously embarrassed about the praise. "Just a lot of negotiating. Anyway, where is Relena, isn't she going to join us?"

"Right here, Dad." Relena was wearing a designer dress in black and pink, and her hair pulled into a French braid held together by a bow of matching color.

"Where is Cabal?" She wanted to know as she joined the rest of the family at the table.

"At home," her brother, who had finally opened the wine bottle and was filling everyone's glass, told her.

"You didn't bring him?" She put on a cute little pout. "I wanted to play with him."

"It's not like we can take him to the restaurant. And you remember what happened to Mom's herb garden last time we left him here alone."

"I do remember." She almost laughed at the memory of finding the puppy knee-high in dug up parsnips, and covered in rosemary twigs and basil leaves when they got back, but a stern look from her father made her bite her lip instead. "But why doesn't he ever dig up the garden at your place? You leave him alone all the time."

"I don't know," her brother huffed. "Do I look like the dog whisperer or something?"

"Did you make those deviled eggs, Misses Peacecraft? They look divine?" Treize gestured at a plate of appetizers in an attempt to change the subject. It wasn't like they could tell Relena that at their house Cabal never really was alone.

"Yes, I did. Please have some."

As she leaned forward to offer the platter to the professor, Milliardo noticed the little golden studs in her ears.

"New earrings?" He asked as his lover helped himself to one of the deviled eggs.

"Yes, aren't they gorgeous. She turned her head to show them off. "Your sister gave them to me for my birthday."

"They do look nice on you. Remind me a little of the pair grandmother passed down to you from her mother."

"Maybe they were designed by the same goldsmith. I will have to check."

"Where did you find them, Lena?" Milliardo wanted to know.

"Just some little store Dorothy took me to." Relena told him as she grabbed a mini meatball from the appetizer tray. "Which reminds me... Mom, Dad, do you think I could use some of that money grandma left me to buy something?"

"I guess that would depend on what you are planning on buying," her father told her.

"A piano."

"A piano?"

"Yes, I think I want to start playing again." she nodded.

"Dear," her mother smiled softly. "I am sure your grandmother would be delighted to hear you say this, but a piano is a big investment. It's not something you go and buy on a whim. Maybe you should take some time to really consider if you will be using it for a long time."

"I agree with your mother, let's talk about this before we make any decision, alright?"

"But..." Relena tried but was interrupted by her mother before she even could argue.

"Besides, what about grandma's piano? If you really want to play why not use that one?"

Her father nodded. "It's just sitting in the attic at Milliardo's house collecting dust, anyway."

"No it's not." Milliardo replied.

"It's not?" Stephàn blinked. "I could have sworn we had it put up there years ago. Are you saying you guys get rid of it?"

"No," his son shook his head. "What I am saying is that it is not just collecting dust. We are using it."

"See," Relena jumped in. "They are using it." And then with a frown in her brother's direction she added. "You are? I thought you hated playing the piano? You used to skip grandma's lesson's whenever you got a chance."

"Well," Milliardo admitted. "It's not that I hated it, but for a nine year old there are just a lot of things that are a lot more fun than taking music lessons from your grandmother. Besides, I am not the one using it...Treize is!"

"Oh, I had no idea you played the piano, Professor." Misses Peacecraft smiled softly.

"Yeah well," Treize put on a charming smile. "It's a Khushrenada tradition I suppose. From what I understand my great grandfather was a wonderful pianist."

"Oh that's wonderful. Some day you really have to tell me more about your family. There seems to be such a fascinating history to it."

"I'll be happy to."

"Um...so does that mean I can get my own piano?" Relena tried to return to the original subject. "You see I already know the one I want. I saw it in a consignment store. It's not new but in great condition and it sounds wonderful. It's a baby grand by Sanford and Son."

"A baby grand?" her father echoed. "Where in the world would we put a baby grand in this house?"

"Already figured that out." she beamed. "On the third floor if we moved one of the leather couches it would fit perfectly. I measured it out. It even fits through the double door to the balcony."

The third floor was really more or less a large loft which had been build and furnished as a play and entertainment room for the kids when they were growing up.

"But I was going to put up my new entertainment center onto the third floor. The big-screen TV is going to be delivered next week," Stephàn pointed out.

"Dear, how much time do you really spend watching movies?" his wife reminded him softly.

"I suppose you are right," he agreed. "I could always put the new TV into the living room."

"Or," Milliardo suggested with a smirk. "You could give it to us. I am sure it would look great in our entertainment room."

"Keep dreaming, son. Keep dreaming."

"So, it's settled then?" Relena pushed. "Can I go and buy the piano tomorrow?"

"No," her father shook his head resolutely. "There is no way I am letting you spend that kind of money without having an expert look at it. It might look good from the outside, Relena, and then fall apart on us in a few weeks. I'll look into it when I come back from Europe, I promise."

"But Dad! By then it might be sold," she argued.

"Well what do you want me to do? Should I call off my trip and tell people we need to reschedule because my daughter suddenly feels like she can't live another week without a piano?" The reproaching edge in her father's voice was hard to miss.

Relena turned her head. "I'm sorry."

Her mother touched her shoulder reassuringly. "I am sure it will still be there next week, Dear."

"Maybe I could have a look," Milliardo decided. "If it isn't a complete piece of junk I can make a down payment and have them hold it until Dad gets a chance to hire an expert."

"That sounds like a great idea, doesn't it Stephàn?"

"Please, Dad?" Relena looked at him hopefully.

Her father sighed. "I am already outvoted, aren't I? Fine. You can go put the piano on hold. But in the end I will be the one who has the last word."

"Don't you always, Dear?" his wife asked with a disarming smile.

TBC

Author's Note: The Piano is Relena's story in my Ghost Detectives arc. It is set after chapter 27 of the Junkyard


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **This story was written by a fan only for the enjoyment of other fans, without any monetary compensation. Gundam Wing and its characters are registered trademarks of Bandai Entertainment Inc.™ and Sotsu Agency. All rights reserved.

**This is the 4th story in the 'Ghost Detectives' Arc arc. In order to fully understand the plot and characters you should have read "The Portrait" completely and if possible also "The Well" and "The Junkyard"**

* * *

><p><strong>The Piano<strong>

**Chapter 2  
><strong>

"What took you so long?" Milliardo checked his watch as his sister finally climbed into the car beside him. "I told you I was going to be here at 12:30, didn't I? That's when the little hand is on the 12 and the big hand on the 6."

"Sorry, sorry!" Relena strapped herself in while he already pulled out of the driveway. "I was finishing up my report and totally lost track of time. What's with the big hurry anyway?"

"I've got to be back home by 2:00, didn't I tell you? We are going to the opening of the new exhibit at the museum."

"The Brower Museum?"

"You know any other museum around here?" Milliardo turned on the GPS he had programmed earlier and the mechanic female voice instructed him to take a left turn and then head south for 3 miles.

"You didn't hear then?"

"Hear what?" He have his sister a questioning look

"There was a break-in at the museum last night. Some expensive artifact has gone missing," she told him.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course I am, don't you ever watch the news?"

"I don't have time to watch the news, little sister. When you have a business to run you don't get that kind of luxury."

Relena rolled her eyes. "You are not the CEO of a fortune 500 company," she reminded him jokingly. "From what I have seen, all you do is boss around a bunch of construction workers."

"Even that," he replied, "has to be done in a timely fashion."

The strip mall wasn't very busy, which wasn't that surprising considering it was Monday and early afternoon. Milliardo was able to find a parking space right in front of the little consignment store.

"Oh no!" Relena cried as she climbed out of his car. "It's sold already. We came too late."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded somberly. "It was sitting right there in the window where the free spot is next to the velvet couch."

"Maybe they just moved it," her brother tried to cheer her up.

"Nobody moves around a piano just for fun," she pointed out, then sighed. "No, I bet its sold. I knew we shouldn't have waited this long."

"Come on, let's not jump to conclusions. Why don't we go inside and find out for sure."

Alerted by the ringing of the little bell above the door, Thomas, the store owner stepped out of the back room to greet his customers. His smile turned from polite to delighted as he approached them.

"Miss Helena, what a pleasant surprise."

"Its Relena with an R," she corrected him with a soft smile.

"Oh, that's right. A thousand pardons."

"Milliardo, this is Thomas, he owns this store. Thomas this is my brother Milliardo."

"Your brother, yes of course I can see the resemblance. You share the same eyes."

"I hope not," Milliardo replied tongue in cheek. "I have never been good in sharing anything."

The handsome Frenchman laughed. It was an easy and pleasant sound.

"So, what can I do for you today, Miss Relena? Perhaps a necklace to go with those earrings you bought last time? I do hope your mother liked them."

"She did, she did," Relena assured him. "But I was wondering about the piano you had in your window. The baby grand; what happened to it?"

"Oh, the one you were playing at so beautifully the other day?"

"My sister, playing in front of strangers?" Milliardo gave an amused huff. "You must be mistaken. She used to be too shy to even perform for the family for our Christmas recitals."

"But it's true. She played a most delightful piece," Thomas insisted, then he turned toward Relena again. "I moved the piano into the back. Someone who is looking for just such a instrument phoned about it yesterday. They will come by to see it later this week."

"Oh, I see." The disappointment in her voice was hard to miss.

Milliardo looked at his sister then the store owner. "But it's not been sold yet, is it?"

"Technically, no it hasn't," the other man admitted.

"Then could we take a look at it?"

"Yes, of course. Right this way, please." Letting Thomas lead the way, the two siblings followed him into the storage room in the back which also seemed to double as his office.

Milliardo checked out the instrument, letting his fingers run over the polished wood. It looked authentic all the way down to the ebony and ivory keys. The top of the little bench seemed to have been replaced. But whoever had done it had taken great care to match the rest of the wood.

The young man took a seat and started to strike the keys to test their sound. He played a short piece, one of the very few he could still remember.

"It's a bit out of tune," he said. Of course that could be easily taken care of, but Milliardo knew better then to point that out. The last thing he wanted was to pay for his own compliments, so he just nodded. "It's not bad. How much did you say you were asking for "

Thomas named the price and the young man nodded again. "That's a bit on the high side isn't it?"

"Well, I think I would go down 1000 dollar for the right costumer,"

"Make it 2000."Milliardo pulled out his wallet. "Do you take American Express or do you want me to write you a check?"

"Umm..." Thomas seemed hesitant. "Like I said, there is already someone interested..."

"Interested in looking at it, I know. But there is no guarantee they will really buy it," Milliardo pointed out.

Of course he was right. And it would take a lot of sold earring and china sets to equal the profit from this one sale.

The blond young man smiled sweetly. "It is obvious you are a smart business man. As such, I'm sure, you would know that a dove -or in this case my check,- in your hand is much better than two on the roof."

Relena's eyes went wide as she realized what her brother was doing. "Would you excuse us for just a moment, Thomas?"

Grabbing Milliardo by the arm she pulled the young man back into the store. "Are you out of your mind, Miri? Didn't you hear what Father said. He wants to have the piano checked out before buying it. We are only supposed to look at it, maybe make a small down payment, not buy it."

Her brother gave her a bored look. "Listen, do you want the damn thing or not?"

"I do, but..."

"Fine then let me handle this."

"But Dad said..." She argued without much conviction.

"I'll deal with Father, Lena. If we don't commit now, the piano might be gone by the time he gets back from Europe. I will just pay for it now. "

"Can you afford it? It's a lot of money."

"Don't worry about it. The house on Manor Terrace just sold and I have the money in the bank. I'll have Father pay me back later," he assured her.

"Thanks."

"Yeah well," Milliardo declared graciously as he threw back his hair in a theatrical gesture. "What are big brothers there for."

###

The four workers from Beethoven on Wheels, the piano moving company her music professor had referred, looked like they could bench-press a rhino without ever breaking into sweat. Relena watched as they set up some kind of lift-like contraption and hoisted the baby grand up to the third floor. It wasn't an easy task considering that the balcony wasn't even wide enough to fit the piano, but somehow they managed.

"Alright, where do you want it?" One of the men, a bald guy with shoulders as wide as a wardrobe, asked once the instrument had cleared the extra wide glass doors.

"To the left, right over there between the windows," her mother directed the mover to an area they had cleared out earlier. A few minutes later the impossible seeming task was completed.

"Do I make the check out to you personally?" Camilla Peacecraft asked the bald man who appeared to be in charge.

"You can make it out to Beethoven on Wheels," he told her.

She did and handed him the check along with a generous cash tip. "Thank you very much."

"No, Thank you, Ma'am."

"Paigan," she called out. "Will you make sure the gentlemen have something cold to drink before they leave?"

"Absolutely, Ma'am," the butler's voice came from downstairs. "I already took the liberty of preparing some iced lemonade."

"Of course, I should have known," she smiled kindly. "You are always one step ahead of me."

As the movers cleaned up their tools and went downstairs, Relena and her mother stayed behind on the 3rd floor.

"It is beautiful, you know. But still, I'm not sure how you father will react when he finds out you two bought the piano without his approval."

"Any chance he might not see it?" Relena asked hopefully.

"It's a baby grand. You would have to hide it behind an elephant for him not to see it," her mother gave a semi amused huff.

"That's it!" Relena grinned. "Were can we get an Elephant between now and when Dad comes back."

"You are impossible, you know that? And so is your brother, for spoiling you so," Camilla Peacecraft sighed, but the pride in her voice was hard to miss. "The two have always been like that. You could fight like cats and dogs, but when it came to the important things you would stick together like glue. But you know, there is something I don't quite understand. What made you decide to start playing the piano again, all of a sudden?"

Relena crooked her head slightly. If she was honest she would have to admit that she wasn't quite sure about it either. But her father didn't raise a fool. If in doubt, always try to be diplomatic, he used to tell her. So the diplomatic answer would have to be.

"I'm not sure. I just remembered all the fun times I had with grandmother... Aren't you happy that I'd rather study music then hang out at the mall with my friends?"

"I am, honey, I am. But I just want you to be sure this isn't just a phase you are going through. Twenty thousand dollar is a lot of money."

"It's not just a **phase**, Mom."

"If that's what you say, Dear. Well, shall we go and see if there is any lemonade left?"

###

Curtains moved slowly in the night breeze, a slight chill hung in the air. Relena always slept with her window open. In the darkness the illuminated digits of her alarm clock read 1:42 AM. Pulling her comforter tighter around her shoulders the young girl turned in her bed without ever waking.

_Somewhere in the distance a piano was playing a song by Mozart, she just couldn't remember which. As she looked around she realized that she was in the middle of some kind of department store. But it wasn't any store she was familiar with. Everything and everyone around her looked a bit old fashioned; men in pinstripe slack suits, women in floral cotton shirts that were narrow at the hips and jackets with wide shoulders and little girls in Shirley Temple dresses. _

_Following the sound of music she eventually found its source on a small stage in the center of the room. A man in a black tail coat was playing a piano that looked just like the one she had just bought. Only this one appeared to be brand new, its black wood polished to a glossy shine. _

_A crowd of people had gathered, apparently attracted by the beautiful sound just like she had been._

_"Eleanor!" A hand touched her shoulder from behind. "Don't be running off like this. You gave me a start there for a moment." _

_She turned her head looking into bearded face with kind eyes. "I'm sorry father. I was just listening to the music. Look at the piano. Isn't it beautiful?"_

_"It sure is," the man she had called father agreed. He was dressed in a double-breasted suit with a matching hat, and a elegant walking stick under his arm. "We can stay a little longer, if you want?" _

_"Yes please."_

_Just then a tall gentleman in a dark gray business suit approached from the back of the store. _

_"Mister Nelson, what a pleasure to see you again," he greeted them. "And this is Miss Eleanor, isn't it. How do you do?"_

_"How do you do, Mister Goldbloom?" She curtsied. _

_"Have you come to pick up your new suit, Mister Nelson?"_

_"Have the alteration been made already?" Her father asked. _

_The store owner nodded. "The tailor finished them this morning. I can have the suit wrapped up for you right away. "_

_"Thank you but that won't be necessary. I will send the boy by later to pick it up. Elly and I are about to drive into the city to see the doctor there. She has been feeling a bit under the weather lately. We had only stopped for a new pair of gloves and then got sidetracked by the piano player."_

_"You like music?" Goldbloom asked her and she nodded. _

_"I'm learning to play myself. And when I grow up I going to be a concert pianist. My piano teacher says I can do anything I want if I just practice hard enough."_

_"Is that so?"_

_Her father laughed and the other man joined in. _

_"Then I will have to make sure to be at your first concert," he said. _

_"I will make sure to send you a ticket, Mister Goldbloom," she replied earnestly. "But can you tell me why this piano is so small? The one at my music teachers house is larger."_

_"They call this a baby grand," he explained. "It's the newest model from Sandford and Sons. Other piano makers have been building them for a while now. But this one I've been told its one of the finest of its kind."_

_"A baby grand? How cute." She laughed. "Do you think it might fit into the tea parlor, Papà?" _

_Her father sighed. He knew that he was in trouble when she called him **Papà.** _

_"I don't know, Eleanor. I'm sure it's very expensive."_

_"How about for my birthday? Please, Papà? I promise I won't ask for anything else."_

A breeze, cool enough to sent a chill through her body, woke Relena. With a yawn she checked her alarm clock, pulling the comforter all the up to her neck when she realized she didn't have to get up for another two hours.

_What a strange dream. And here in the world did it come from? I don't remember watching any old movies lately. I bet Dorothy would tell me there is some kind of hidden message in this. _

She yawned again as she closed her eyes and decided to go back to sleep.

* * *

><p>TBC<p>

Author's Note: The Piano is Relena's story in my Ghost Detectives arc. It is set after chapter 27 of the Junkyard


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